The Biggest Exhibition in the Smallest Space
‘Is it an ism, or is it art?’ Rather, it’s a phy… photography!
Plett writer, Rene Connolly, chats to celebrated photographer and writer, Obie Oberholzer, ahead of the Plett ARTS Festival from 20 – 29 September 2024 and his exhibition at the festival.
They’ve named their home The Piazza di San Giorgio and it’s clear from the delightful garden courtyard, beautified with shells from the local beach and knick-knacks from faraway lands, that the Oberholzers are a well-travelled husband and wife team.
Happily ensconced in the supremely tranquil Nature’s Valley, near the enclave of Plettenberg Bay, Obie and Lynn welcome me with bright, intelligent eyes and warm smiles. Lynn is buzzing around the kitchen, cooking up a storm, joining Obie and me sporadically while we sip coffee in the sun. It’s here where Obie Oberholzer, world-renowned photographer and all-round hoot, regales me with tales of his illustrious career both behind the camera lens and the steering wheel of whichever vehicle carried him across the African continent. You’d be hard-pressed to find a man who’s seen more of the world, and with a mantra like ‘Over one horizon lies another’, one is easily swept along with the excitement.
Despite his incredible photographical feats, Obie couldn’t be humbler and more understated about his achievements. I ask the man, hailed by those in the know for painting with light, where and how it all began. He explains that his mother saw both his aptitude and penchant as an artist when he was a young boy, and promptly placed him under the tutelage of Alice Mertens. After studying graphic design at Stellenbosch University, this German photographic lecturer encouraged the gifted Obie to attend one of the only two photography schools in the world at the time, so he settled in Munich, where he honed his craft.
He shares with me that it was his dream at the time to be a war photographer. His eyes dance as he tells me how he met and chewed the fat with Sir Donald McCullin CBE, a British photographer fresh from the bloodied shores of Vietnam. This is but one of his many extraordinary relationships forged with fellow extraordinary artists and entrepreneurs over the years. I imagine his erstwhile Filofax read like a global who’s who of all things captured behind lenses.
I marvel as Obie shows me one of his proudest compilations of photos and anecdotes from his journey across South Africa, spanning 1977 to 2021, entitled The Happysadland. It is in this incredible book that Obie introduces us to his ‘fellow traveller’, the face in the sand. Of him, the alter ego, Obie writes, “I am like you, my passing friend, dappled by the light of contradictions, on roads that bring beauty and unease, shimmering brightness and sinister shadows. Running with the blood and dust through our veins, we are the wild and restless spirits of happy sadness.”
Then there are other more humorous stories of being chased by bulls and encountering critters with all manner of attitude. Wild takes indeed.
Favourite places? I did ask, but how does someone who’s been nearly everywhere choose a single destination? “Impossible,” he smiles. Obie recalls a few anecdotal tales for my benefit. Hotazel for instance,near the Kalahari desert, where he captured a beautiful image of locals as they frequented the only bottle store for kilometres around. Another memorable destination was the port of Bagamoyo on the Tanzanian coastline in Tanzania where the last recorded slaves were stolen away on ships to the Americas.
Various sponsors over the years afforded Obie fantastic opportunities to capture rare images on film from every corner of the globe. His latest book, Going Dutch, set for publication soon, is sure to be a coffee table staple. With this work, Obie showcases nine South African towns and their Dutch namesakes in The Netherlands. I had the privilege of taking a sneak peek and the images alone are breathtaking.
Our chat is interspersed with the kind of mantras and quotes that make me chuckle on the inside. Obie is an amusing character. His dry wit is contagious, and I’m compelled to jot down a few without being too obvious about it. A girl never knows when she’ll need such a wealth of mirth and wisdom. Oh, all right, I’ll share a couple of Oberholzer quotes.
“Freedom is a layer of dust on your dashboard. In Africa, your best companion is a sense of humour. There’s a lot of living in a tank of diesel. The price of diesel stubs my creativity. In Africa, the less you presume the further you’ll go. I am dead when my dust settles.”
There simply is no end to the wanderer’s spirit, so I ask Obie if he has any unfulfilled dreams left in his near-emptied bucket list. “Yes! I want to traverse the Gunbarrel Highway,” he grins wistfully. What you may not know about Obie, is that he’s a firm fan of the controversial Australian band Midnight Oil, who in their album, Diesel and Dust, mentioned said highway. The lyrics about this place are as profound as I imagine the depths of Obie’s soul to be.
The only trouble is that his band of merry men, a gang of eight friends from Stellenbosch University, now all in their late seventies, are yet to be convinced to join Obie on this trek across the arid Australian desert track, consisting of about 1,350 km of washaways, heavy corrugations, stone, sand, and flood plains. This kind of landscape is old hat to someone like Obie who is no stranger to sleeping under African night skies, or negotiating all manner of bushwhacking and mountainous trails, armed only with a sense of humour and a diesel bakkie. But the dream lives on.
I urge you all to attend this year’s Plett Arts Festival, from 20 – 29 September, where Obie’s works will be displayed. It’s a wonderous thing to be in the presence of such rare talent and intoxicating passion. I cannot overstate the dark chocolaty rich humour that coats Obie’s tales and the spectacular insight his images bring to the fore. Enjoy!
Shed some kilos, wriggle and roll, twist and shout to view the largest of prints on exhibition in the world’s tiniest gallery at the Seakrit Coffee Shop in Plettenberg Bay. The exhibition will be on display from 23 September – Sunday 29 September 2024.
With over 90 exhibitions, shows, talks and events throughout the ten-day festival, each will be an intriguing adventure through a world of colour, conversation and creativity surrounded by the exquisite beauty of South Africa’s favourite playground.
Browse the full programme and make bookings on www.plettartsfestival.co.za with accommodation, restaurant and activity specials included.
